Lions fans may have been feeling a bit of anxiety for most of the fourth quarter, but Detroit came away from Lambeau Field Thursday night in sole possession of first place in the NFC North.
It was a statement win for Detroit, one that ended with a sea of Honolulu Blue-clad fans chanting "let's go Lions" as the team notched a fourth straight win over the Packers.
After the Packers narrowly got off a play in the final seconds of the third quarter to get inside the 10 yard line, Green Bay cut Detroit’s lead to 10 points and things were starting to feel a little bit dicey.
But then the tide turned in Detroit's favor.
The Lions had seemingly tacked on three points to extend their lead to 30-17 with a Riley Patterson field goal with under 8:00 to play. But when the TV broadcast returned, the Lions had the ball again.
The referees called an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Green Bay's Quay Walker for jumping over the line on the field goal, extending the drive.
After opting for the field goal on a fourth down earlier in the drive, gamblin’ Dan Campbell decided to take a chance the second time around, with David Montgomery punching it in from a yard out for his third touchdown of the night.
Jerry Jacobs sealed the deal with a red zone interception – Jordan Love’s second of the night – with 4:05 to play.
QB Jared Goff overcame a first-drive interception to throw for 210 yards on 19-of-28 passing with a first-quarter touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Montgomery, who was questionable for much of the week, finished with 121 yards on 32 carries.
Rookie safety Brian Branch left the game early in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury. After returning at the start of the fourth quarter, Branch again left the game late in the fourth quarter. His status was not immediately clear after the game.
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